criterionmudfandomcom-20200215-history
Newbie FAQ
This section is for first time Mudders or just those new to Criterion! In it we will constantly update and add answers to your questions and needs! Note: Much of what we will have here at first will essentially be a updated and transferred information directly from the Newbie FAQ on the Criterion Home Page with a few things added including some more uncommon but infinitely useful commands as well as a list of some of the best newbie equipment and where to acquire it. Also before you assume you'll be typing endlessy and groaning about wearing your "pair of flaming boots" remember that Criterion allows you to abbreviate. So if you have a long sword and want to wield it you don't have to type "wield long-sword" you can simply type "wield sword" or even "wield swo" assuming you aren't carrying an item with a similar name! Clients A mud client is a program that allows you to connect to the mud. It will allow you to repeat the last command you typed, and some clients will also allow you to hear sound the mud sends. It also can do some things automatically for you when it sees a certain text. If you connect to Criterion mud thru your browser, you do not need a mud client however - your browser acts as the mud client. For more information on clients check the article on them! Connecting to Criterion To connect to the Criterion world, you have basically three choices: #'Connect using a telnet application.' This option is not recommended, as it will make it a lot harder for you to understand what is going on. The advantage is you probably have it already loaded on your system. To try it, click here. #'Connect using a mud client'. Most people choose this way, as it is the most compatible between mud's and allows you to do a lot of things automatically. Some mud clients like Pueblo or Zmud will allow you log in automatically, or hear sounds. Zmud even allows you to do automatic mapping. There are more mud clients in the links section. #[http://criterionmud.net:8080/login.html Connect with your browser]. This option is unique to Criterion! It allows you to see graphics, click on links to do actions, open windows to display maps or text. You can now see the Grunting Boar Inn! It's still under beta testing however; not everything works as it should. (Currently Experiencing Issues) Another entry on connecting to Criterion is available Here. Classes Criterion is a class based mud. What skills you can learn, whether you can cast magic, some of your vital stats, are determined by what class you pick. Certain classes can be combined with others, this is called multiclassing. Multiclass characters usually take longer to level because they require more experience (each class must get its share of experience), however, you will have more skills available to you. The individual classes are as follows: Mages Mages are masters of arcane knowledge. Many years of patient study will be needed to allow the mage to control very powerful and violent magics. An apprentice mage must be willing to sacrifice power in the beginning in the hopes of learning the more powerful spells. A mage will have the power to summon monsters to their aid, move from place to place in the blink of an eye with the portal spell, harden their skin to protect from harm with stone skin, and much, much more. Single class mages get a more powerful arcane powers spell, higher ability to learn a spell, and the ability to cast a spell above their own level. Clerics Clerics are an important part of any traveling group. They are able to heal, bless, turn the undead, cast violent aggressive spells that are not matched by another PC type, and cast many other spells that enhance a parties ability to stay alive. As with mage, a young cleric is weak and will progress slower then some of the other classes, but in the end the cleric is indeed one of the strongest and most able PC types. Single class clerics get a more powerful heal and restoration spell, higher ability to learn a spell, and the ability to cast a spell above their own level. Thieves A thief is a PC who does things in a round-about way. He doesn't always kill the mob to get the goods, he steals the goods from under their eyes. He doesn't kill the mob with a wild frontal attack with blazing swords, he attacks from the rear with a vicious back stab. He won't plod through an area daring mobs to attack, he sneaks through and takes a peek so he knows what he is getting into. In addition a thief can detect and disable traps, call mobs out of a crowded room to allow for a quick kill, and pick locks. all very valuable skills for a party.. just watch your gold. Single class thieves backstab better than multiclass thieves. As well, they can learn their skills better than multiclass warriors (less failures). Warriors You like hackin' and slashin' and rescuin' fair damsels, self health and welfare be damned? Then this is the class for you. You will learn fighting skills like bash and kick, and you'll have the largest selection of armor and weapons, even at low levels. Some of the powers that are not available to you are also available in potion (or scroll, once you learn to read magic) form that can be found in shops and on mobs. A warrior is powerful in his own right and will always be around when there is blood to be spilled. Single class warriors get more hit points than multiclasses ones, and get more attacks per round. As well, they can learn their skills better than multiclass warriors (less failures). Monks Monks are masters of harmony. They are very aware of their internal balance and are resistant to things that upset that balance. This characteristic does not necessarily force them to be neutral. Over time their training enables them hit attack others with their bare hands and to kick things with amazing force. Their focus on their being neutralizes any affect dexterity would normally have on their armor class. Very little is reflex anymore. As they become more powerful they become resistant and eventually immune to things that would disturb their internal balance. Monks are designed to be weak & equipment starved at low levels. At high levels their powers allow them to rival and even surpass the most powerful warriors. Druids Druids are priests that wield and worship powers of nature. They strive to maintain the balance of all living things and repair it when necessary. This system of beliefs requires them to remain neutral at all times. A Druid that is not neutral is lost, irrevocably. To compensate for this, they are given powers that no other character class can attain. They are resistant to charm at level 14, immune to poison at level 32, and immune to charm at level 60. Their spells include healing, harming, elemental offense and natural defense. They can also call upon many allies from nature. Elementalist Elementalists are masters of the 5 elements. They can specialise and be master in a few elements of their choice. Elementalists tend to lack "utility" spells not related to an element, however, their attack spells can easily surpass a mage's. Elementalists get better mana regeneration than all of the other classes. GTCantz: Mage/Cleric/Warrior/Thief can all be combined in a single character up to 3 seperate classes. Example: Mage/Cleric/Warrior or Warrior/Thief. More in depth articles on each individual class to come! Experience Experience (often called exp, or xp), is a representation of how experienced your character is. To advance to the next level, you will need a certain amount of experience (type "score" to see it). Killing stronger monsters will give you more experience than killing weaker ones, but if you pick a monster that is too strong for you, you may die, or if you have wimpy enabled, you may flee. Dying will cost you a lot of experience, and fleeing will cost a little (it depends on the strength of the monster). Before you try to kill a monster, you should try the con command also. If you are trying to kill a tough monster, you may wish to set your wimpy. More on what your wimpy and con commands are below! Wimpy Wimpy is a feature that allows you to automatically flee from combat when you are below a certain amount of hit points. This will often save your hide! A setting below 20% is usually useless, and a setting above 40% is usually a bit annoying as you will often flee when you feel you are not really in danger. The maximum setting is 50%. Keep in mind that you do not always flee the first time you try to. GTCantz: I personally use wimpy 15% however I typically have high level characters and a lot of experience under my belt. I recommend typing "wimp 25" if you are a new player so you flee at 25% of your health. It should give you ample time to escape and recall 1 to the fountain to heal! Consider (con command) You will encounter many monsters that are past your level, and therefore could kill you with a few hits. To determine the strength of a monster, use "con monster". Con returns three types of information. For example, if you CON'ed Biff The Dragon Slayer: You would be the victor after 2 rounds, and would be in very good shape. The CON commands simulates a combat (just one!) and returns the result. Since this is just one simulation, you will probably want to try it a few times to get a better idea of what your combat will be like. This is especially true when you are a newbie, and miss your hits often. Also note that the con command does not take into account any casting the NPC might do. The difference of your level versus Biff the Dragon Slayer's makes you think... Too easy to be believed. This is the least accurate information. The CON command compared your level to Biff's, and returned a piece of text describing the difference. Unfortunately, levels aren't always set with respect to a monster's strength, so you should not rely on this description. Finally, you may see: Est Max hits are: Extremely inferior Est. armor class is : About the same as yours Est. # of attacks: A few Est. damage of attacks is A decent amount of damage The last paragraph you will not get until you have practiced lore at the Loremaster (ask people on mud for directions). "Est" here stands for estimated. The damage estimate is strictly based on the dice of the mobile is unreliable. Newbie Equipment Some of it is actually quite good. Before you get rid of it, you should check this table. You may be replacing your newbie equipment with something crappy! Most of the merchants in Midgaard do not sell anything valuable, as they have been killed far too often. This may change in the future. Note: Most of the newbie equipment can often be found in the Newbie Donation Room if you missed it or did not go through the Newbie Training. Newbie Donation is located 2e from the fountain (recall 1) in the temple. A fully loaded newbie looks like: 1 A Candle 2 A shiny silver ring 3 A shiny silver ring 4 A spiked choker 5 A spiked choker 6 A strong set of body armor 7 A shiny helm 8 Leather leggings 9 A pair of strong-looking leather shoes 10 Some worn leather gloves 11 Some leather bracers 12 A shiny shield 13 A tough, leather cloak 14 A tough, leather belt. 15 A valuable bracelet 16 A valuable bracelet 17 A sharp dagger GTCantz: To get these items from the ground type "get " and to wear them its "wear " or in the case of hold "hold " and wield is "wield " For a list of some of the best newbie equipment view the article on The Cantz Method Equipment Stats etc. The birthday candle is a light. This means if you hold it, the room will be brighter. Useful for times when you're in the woods and it's night. The pencil is a piercing weapon with an average damage of 7. The other stats are explained below: **'Hitroll:' Positive values for the hitroll helps you hit mobiles better. Inversely, negative values make it harder to hit the mobile. If the mobile has a high armor class (AC) you will need a high value of hitroll. **'Damage:' As you would expect, positive values make you do more damage. Also called Damroll, and often combined with hitroll and called "HIT-N-DAM". **'Hitpoints:' Positive values augment your hit points. As you probably know, when your hit points go below -9, you are dead. It is called "HIT" by the mud. **'Character Height:' Positive values make you taller. This is useful when you're trying to reach the back of a very tall mobile (see the backstab skill, if you're a thief). **'Armor:' Negative values make you more armored (see AC below). **'AC:' Refers to the Armor Class (AC) change that the equipment will bring when you wear it. Positive 'values will make you more armored and therefore harder to hit. The mud calls this "AC-apply". Also indicates the item's durability. See the AC entry below for more details. **'Move: You have a certain amount of movement points which are used as you move. They come back when you rest for a few minutes. Positive numbers bring up the total amount of them you can have. Armor Class (AC) AC (Armor Class) refers to how well protected you are from physical blows. For example, a suit of armor will have a higher (better) armor class than a piece of clothing. Your dexterity determines the base for this setting, and any further items you wear affect it also. To find out your AC, type "attribute". Here is the range of values: *Barely armored (least armored - AC over 100) *Lightly armored *Medium armored *Fairly well armored *Well armored *Quite well armored *Very well armored *Extremely well armored *Armored like a tank (most armored - AC under -100) GTCants: There are a variety of other things that affect your AC as well as equipment. Mostly spells but learn what they are and which ones are good and you'll be Tankin' and Spankin' in no time!! Communication There are generally two ways of communicating, to everyone in the world, and to people in the room you are in. To speak to the entire mud, type: To speak directly to one person (does not have to be in the same room), type: To speak in just the room you are in, type: More detail Groups and Grouping Suppose you want to kill monsters with someone else; I mean, two swords are better than one right? You'll notice that experience will go to the last person to make the blow. Unless, of course, you group, then the experience will be shared between players. How do you do it? First, you decide on who will lead. Let's say it's Bob, and Mark and Paul are playing also. Then everyone types: follow Bob Bob, on the other hand, must not be following anybody (he can type "follow Bob" if he is), and must group everyone, himself included with the following commands: group Bob group Mark group Paul Now, whenever anyone kills someone, everyone in the room and in the group will get a share of the experience. And now whenever Bob moves, everyone in the group capable of moving will follow Bob. GTCantz: Grouping is a great way to enjoy the game more thoroughly, with friends, and really conquer those tough areas and mobs. Not only do you share experience you can also use the command "autosplit" to automatically share gold from defeated mobs among the group. Also if you are trying to boost your alignment in one direction or the other you can group with a friend and share the alignment changes whether you actually get a hit in on the mob or not! Reading Scrolls If you are a magic user (Mage, Cleric, Druid, Elementalist), you can read scrolls simply by typing "recite scroll-name". If you are not a magic user (warrior, thief), you will first need to learn how to read magic, by visiting the Loremaster in Mordilina. Magic users may also want to make the quest to learn some of the other things the loremaster teaches. This quest should not be undertaken by players of levels less than 10, because getting lost could mean you run into dangerous creature, however, you should not need to engage in combat. You will need a boat (the captain near the levee sells one). The levee is 2 squares east (2e) and 1 square south from Common Square. From the levee, the Loremaster is one south, go all the way west (the current may drag you west also), and then all the way south until you cannot go any further. Then once west, and south until you find the Loremaster. Once there, like always, type "practice" to get a list of the skills you can learn. Type "practice read magic" until it says you are a master. Note that not all scrolls are good, and you may wish to identify them before reciting them. Lost? Need Help? The easiest way to remedy this is to type "recall", which will bring you back to the Temple of Midgaard or the last place you rented. Type "recall ?" to see where you've rented so far. There are also maps of a few areas available. As well as Directions to the different areas. GTCantz: Be careful! Getting lost may not be a bad thing as long as you can simply recall.. but if you're wearing or carrying rare equipment or end up in an area thats on an extra-dimensional plane your basic recall command wont be enough! You'll need a special scroll called a "Scroll of Recall" or the spell "Word or Recall" to get back if you can't find your way! If you don't have one ask a higher level player to come find you and bring you one or telekinesis one to your inventory! If that isn't an option you can always use the Maps and Directions articles to help you find your way. If all else fails though you MAY ask an Immortal to transfer you back to Midgaard but remember.. They may not always do it! However please avoid asking them if there are already other players online or if you have not tried to the fullest extent to navigate your way back into the inner planes. So try your best and attempt to recall often if you find yourself lost and too far out! Identifying Items The best way to identify equipment is to buy a wand from Zifnab (2 west, 1 north of Market Square), hold the wand and type "use wand item". The item should be in your inventory (not equipped). Please note that the newbie equipment is already identified for you above. The dagger and the candle are better than a lot of the equipment out there; this is done to help newbies get started. GTCantz: Identifying items you don't know the stats to can be useful and helpful.. but may more often than not turn out to be cumbersome and often times a waste of a wand charge. To save time you may consider asking other players what equipment is good or if they know whether or not the object is better than what you already have. Player Stats There are 6 stats, and they have impact on various skills and spells (this list is NOT complete but is a general reference sheet): |- | valign="baseline" width="42"| | valign="top" width="100%"|'Intelligence: ' |- | valign="baseline" width="42"| | valign="top" width="100%"|'Wisdom: ' |- | valign="baseline" width="42"| | valign="top" width="100%"|'Dexterity: ' |- | valign="baseline" width="42"| | valign="top" width="100%"|'Constitution: ' |- | valign="baseline" width="42"| | valign="top" width="100%"|'Charisma: ' |} Hitroll vs Damroll By Alex The answer to this one changes depending on what you want to do. If you want hit more often, get stuff that gives a higher hitroll. (Great for players with multiple hits per round.) If you prefer to hit harder, get stuff with a higer damage roll. This will add to the damage your weapon does when you do hit something (someone.) It is possible to have both be very high numbers - in the 30's. this is nice if you want to hit every time, and hit hard. (That's the way you're supposed to hit, right?) Okay, so what exactly does hitroll help with? Hitroll is designed to help with something called a THAC-0http://www.criterionmud.net/newbie.html#THAC0 (To Hit Armor Class Zero.)(see below) To hit a creature, when you type kill (thingy) - the game rolls a 20 sided "hit dice" and compares it to your THAC-0. - If the dice is higher than your THAC-0 , you hit the thingy you are trying to kill. Game does this every round until you flee, kill it, or get killed. What does Damroll help with? Damroll adds to the damage your weapon does. To find out what damage your weapon does just get someone to show you how to identify your weapon. Wands that do this are available from Zifnab. For example - if you know your weapon (in this case, the Epee) does 12d1, you know that when you hit, the game rolls 12 one-sided dice and adds up the result... which in this case, is always 12. You are wearing armor that gives you +6 to damage... so, just add the two numbers up! 12 + 6 = 18 hit points of damage you do to the other guy. ( Only if you manage to hit him!!) THAC-0 By Alex To Hit Armor Class Zero (thac0) - every player has one. This helps the game figure out how often you're going to hit someone in a battle. The game rolls a 20 sided die each time you are going to hit someone. For a character at level one, your Thac0 is high - you may have to roll over 16 (out of 20!) to hit whatever you're attacking. Don't worry, THAC0 comes down as you gain experience and levels. For high level characters, THAC0 may be as low as 2, or even 1 (out of 20) to hit. This explains why a level one character has such a hard time killing a mouse, but a level 99 character can kill creatures of God-like difficulty with out breaking a sweat. Oh... if the game rolls a 1 (out of 20) you will miss. If the game rolls a 20 (out of 20) you will hit no matter what. It's the game's way of letting the newbies kill the mouse. Does the armor class of the creature I'm attacking affect MY Thac-0? Yes. As the creature's armor class drops towards the max of -100, your Thac-0 goes up. The max thac-0 you can have is 19. (out of 20) This is where your hitroll bonus comes in. The hitroll bonus helps you hit creatures of really low armor class. The reverse is also true. A creature with low armor class (max of +100) is very easy to hit, and your Thac-0 needed to whack him is lower. Prompt (Ex: H:20 M:100 V:100) When you play, you will notice three sets of numbers at the bottom of your screen. These numbers are your prompt (the default one, you can change it later if you like.) H: ' are your current hitpoints. Hit points are the measure of a character's current physical condition. You can lose hp during combat, and if you lose too much hp, your character will die. '''M: ' is your current mana. Mana is the measure of a character's magical capability. As you cast spells, you use up mana. It is possible to use up your mana and not be able to cast a spell. 'V: ' are your current movement points. Movement points represent a character's stamina. You slowly use up movement points during travel, and when you run low, your character becomes tired. Hitpoints, mana, and movement points all regenerate over time. You can speed up this regeneration by sleeping or resting (a safe place is best, and a regen room like The Temple of Midgaard is even better).'''GTCantz: As you level up your HP and MP will level up based on your Constitution and Intelligence respectively.. however your movement will remain the same. However there are many spells that will restore your movement as well as potions and some foods. Also there are certain pieces of equipment that will augment your HP, MP and/or MV! Just remember to keep an eye on your prompt and you'll be just fine! Moving Around Directions you may move in: Type: e,n,s,w,u or d to move east, north, south, west, up or down To see exits in the room you are in, type: To open or unlock a door, type: To see the room description again, type: GTCantz: Movement is a crucial part of the mud. Its not as hard as you might think and you'll come to learn the areas so you won't need to read the room descriptions unless you're looking for a particular exit/detail or just want to enjoy the creativity of the Immortals. I'm not saying you should NEVER read the descriptions but stopping to read everyone will really slow down your process! |} |} Equipment (Wearing, removing etc.) To see what you are wearing, type: eq To wear an item, type: wear ''' To wear everything you can, type: '''wear all To remove something you are wearing or wielding, type: remove ''' To remove all you are wearing, type: '''remove all GTCantz: You can also type "eq all" to view what pieces of equipment you may be missing. Inventory To see what you are carrying, type: inv You may only carry a limited amount of items, which is why players chose to carry containers (such as bags). Containers expand the amount of items you can carry. GTCantz: The limit on the number of items is based on the level of your character. The higher your level, the more items you can handle outside of a container! (the number of items in your invetory does not include worn equipment and weapons or objects in a carried container however the container itself counts towards that maximum number of items). Containers (bags, sacks etc.) To see contents, type: look in 'or '''examine ' To put an item into a container, type: 'put ' To put everything in your inventory, type: 'put all ' To put only breads in a container, type: put 'all.bread ' To remove something from a container, type: get To get everything from a container, type: get all To get only breads from a container, type: get 'all.bread ' 'GTCantz: You can also enter a numerical value instead of "all" such as "get 2.bread " and this will allow you to get only the entered value amount of the item. ' Hunger and Thirst I’m hungry, and out of food. What do I do? Type: recall If you have not rented yet, type: s, s, w, n If you have rented in Midgaard, type: d, w, s, w, n Type: buy bread Type: eat bread I’m thirsty. What do I do? There are a few solutions, depending on what you have. #If you have a water container, like a cup, type: 'drink ' #You can go back to the fountain in Midgaard. Type: '''recall then drink fountain GTCantz: What I typically do when I'm hungry/thirsty is solve both problems in one fell swoop. I recall 1 to the fountain, drink fount;2swn;buy l;buy l;eat l;eat l ''' '''The french loaves are inexpensive and two of them will fill you up completely! Its worthwhile if you're not a spellcaster or have yet to get minor creation for bread or heroes feast! Death I died. What do I do? Type: rest (you are still low on health points) Try to find your corpse. One item and gold will remain with it. If you don’t know where it is, ask for help. (Type: gossip Could someone please help me find my corpse?’ ) When you find your corpse: Type: get all corpse Type: sac corpse You only lose a little experience points with a death, don’t be discouraged! It happens to the best of us. Healing/Mana/Movement Regen I heal slowly. How can I speed this up? I get my mana back so slowly. How can I speed this up? I get my movement points back so slowly. How can I speed this up? Make sure you are not hungry or thirsty. Type: score If you hungry or thirsty, there will be a line saying so, if there is no line mentionning that then you aren't. To get a room that speeds up regeneration, type: recall If you have rented in Midgaard, type: recall, go d, w, n Type: rest or, even faster, type: sleep The Temple of Midgaard (room with the fountain) is a regeneration room. Resting or sleeping there will speed up healing/mana regeneration/move regeneration. Potions that heal/restore mana/restore movement points are sold at various shops, but are expensive. Some monsters also have potions. Never quaff a potion without first identifying it. Some potions are harmful. Poison White potions cure poison: They are sold at the Magic shop in Midgaard. Type: recall, then type s, s, w, w, n. If you have rented in Midgaard: Type: d, w, s, w, w, n Type: buy white Type: quaff white In an emergency, a cleric can also cure you. Be careful about asking for help too often or people will get annoyed. Type: recall Type: gossip ‘I am poisoned, can anyone cure me please?’ This cannot be ignored, poison will result in the death of your character. It is not difficult to avoid being poisoned, just avoid attacking anything that may be poisonous, such as snakes, spiders, etc. GTCantz: Being poisoned is the bane of newbie existence. Especially if you're completely new to mudding and don't understand it or don't notice it. Back when I first started Criterion White potions were not sold at all (at least not where newbies could get to easily) so you either died.. or hoped a player online had a cleric with remove poison. Keep a watchful eye on your hp and always be sure to type "att" to see what spells are affecting you! Renting Where does one rent? Players may rent at any inn that has a receptionist. To find the inn in Midgaard: Type: recall, go s, e, u. There are inns in other towns also. Why should I rent? Renting assures you that your items will be saved. Renting also dictates where you enter the game and recall to. Renting is a handy way to travel around. If you rent in Midgaard, then type: recall ? with a 1 beside it. This means that from now on, when you type recall 1, you will land at the Grunting Boar, rather than at the fountain. If you later rent at another location, you will be able to return there by typing recall 2. What does renting change for me? You won’t recall to the Temple of Midgaard anymore. You will be able to recall to different locations rather than just one. How do I get back to the fountain from the Grunting Boar in Midgaard? Type: d, w, n For more on Renting view the article! Shops/Shopping GTCantz: this is really an unofficial entry at the moment to give people a command and some tips and pointers on shopping'. Many shops will have one or two items worth buying and then a lot of filler (unless its a food store typically). The exceptions to this are usually the multiple clan shops throughout the mud. ' You have a few commands at your disposal while at a shop including buy, sell, list, and value. Buy: Will buy an item. To buy multiples of an item you type "buy *" List: This will show you a list of what the shopkeep is selling Value: Will value an item in your inventory and give you an idea of what you're going to make on it. Firebreather vs. Slime Mold Juice Imagine this scenario, you log on for the first time in a couple months, and spot a shotglass in your inventory that you just can't quite remember. You peer inside of this shot glass to see that it's full of a light green liquid, and think to yourself, 'Yay, Firebreather!' and scoff it down. But to your dismay, it was not Firebreather at all, but rather Slime Mold Juice. Why would you be carrying a a shotglass of this anyways? Differences Between the Two 1. Firebreather is tastey alcoholic beverage that 'get's you drunk in a hurry.' 2. Slime Mold Juice is said to be delicious, 'Tastes like chicken, or about like owl. Owl...chicken...no real difference. They both fry up real good. (Owls are harder to catch. They can fly. A bullet could take care of them, but have you ever try aiming at a slow moving owl slowly flying away from you while high on life? Hard as hell, man!) 3. Firebreather appears to be Dark Green in colour. 4. Slime Mold Juice appears to be Light Green in colour.